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10 Best Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wines to Buy Now + Surprising Facts about Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the most southern and important quality-driven appellation in the southern Rhone Valley. You’ll find my top 10 Chateauneuf-du-Pape reviews and ratings here. Surprising Facts about Chateauneuf-du-Pape: The history of Chateauneuf-du-Pape can be traced back to the 14th century when the papal court of Rome relocated to Avignon, close to a limestone quarry for construction purposes. Pope Clement V arrived in Avignon in 1309 during the rebuilding of the papal summer quarters in Calcernier. He ordered the planting of grape vines. His successor John XXII is credited with developing the papal vineyard. This area became known as Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which... learn more

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Wine's Finest Moments in the Movies ...

We chat about how Hollywood's most memorable characters, from James Bond to Hannibal Lector, have always had a little help from the wine bottle. How wine is portrayed in the movies is often revealing about our wine culture. Sit back, open a good bottle and ... learn more

Which bottles should I stock in my wine cellar?

Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz 2012

This is what elegance and restraint tastes like from Australia: French grammar school, Australian graduate studies by the consummate gentleman winemaker Peter Gago. This wine was matured for a year in French oak, 26% of which was new. Lovely aromas of mint ... learn more

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The Wrath of Grapes: How to Cure a Hangover

Do your eyelids creak when they open? Has your tongue been scrubbed with sandpaper? Is the Little Drummer Boy playing on your cerebral cortex? At this time of year, we make merry in haste and then repent in waste, the next day. Thousands of years ago, man discovered alcohol; the next day he discovered the hangover. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about what causes hangovers but not what cures them. Their effects are as immutable as Newton’s law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Of course, the only way to avoid a hangover is not... learn more

Join me for a great glass of wine!

Think of me as your red-nosed fairy godmother. I kiss a lot of...

...vinous frogs to find the princely bottles for you, tasting more than 10,000 wines a year to write the wine reviews on this site. Create your own shopping list from my wine ratings and you're all set for deliriously happy wine shopping... and drinking!

A terrific, well-crafted NZ SB! Citrus lift, not too grassy and ultra refreshing. This wine is named for the two rivers that converge in the heart of the Marlborough region: the Awatere and Wairau Rivers. Pair with shellfish....